FDA 483 OBSERVATION · #158 OF 1,923 MOST-CITED

Scheduled process establishment

FDA cited this observation 196 times across 180 firms in recent inspections. Below: how it breaks down by program area and fiscal year, and real examples of how FDA worded it on Form FDA 483.

What this grouping is not

An observation-type page groups FDA’s published citation records. The grouping, the compliance steps and the root causes are SPEQ synthesis, not an FDA classification of any citation, and a count measures what FDA published rather than risk.

BY PROGRAM AREA
Foods196
BY FISCAL YEAR
FY202615
FY202525
FY202417
FY202312
FY202215
FY20214
FY20206
FY201928
FY201823
FY201727
FY201624

What this observation is associated with

Firms cited for this observation also appear in FDA compliance actions — warning letters, injunctions, or seizures — at 1.4× the rate of the average FDA-cited firm (11.1% vs 7.8%), across 180 FEI-matched firms.

This is an association, not causation, and reflects co-occurrence in FDA's records — not a claim that the observation caused or preceded the action.

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How FDA worded it — real examples

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Pacific Exchange Distributors, LLC · Gardena, California · Foods · 2026-07-30

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Probst Preserves, Inc. · Heber City, Utah · Foods · 2026-07-17

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Gadal Laboratories Inc. · Miami, Florida · Foods · 2026-06-29

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Chef Merito, LLC · Van Nuys, California · Foods · 2026-05-29

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

ALIMENTOS GAVELLE S.A. DE C.V · Toluca · Foods · 2026-04-22

A scheduled process was not established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Total Life Changes · Ira, Michigan · Foods · 2026-04-17

Related SPEQ references

Where to read the requirements behind this observation area on SPEQ. These are SPEQ's topic and audience pages — not an FDA classification of the citation.

Food industry →

Examples are a representative sample of FDA's published inspection observations. Open the 483 observation explorer →